Humankind's landing on the moon in 1969 marked one of Omega's most important moments in history. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had successfully completed this mission with Speedmasters strapped on their wrists. To commemorate the occasion, Omega created a series of 1014 gold Speedmasters named "Apollo XI 1969" as a tribute to the NASA astronauts.

While number one and number two of the limited edition series were offered to the President and Vice President of the United States (who eventually did not accept the gift due to compliance reasons), numbers 3 to 32 were given to astronauts and various personalities and displayed a special caseback engraving. The remaining pieces were publicly sold. The present watch is one among this historical line of commemorative timepieces. Those sold publicly bore the inscription "The First Watch Worn on the Moon" along with the limited edition number. These models were most notably sold only with gold bracelets.

The present watch is one among the publicly sold batch of watches. Preserved in excellent condition with its original bracelet, it is most notably offered with its original guarantee stating the watch was originally sold in Japan. Furthermore, the Omega Extract from the Archives confirms delivery to Japan. Very rarely do surviving examples still have the original guarantee, which gives this timepiece an added layer of collectibility.

Omega's rich history begins with its founder, Louis Brandt, who established the firm in 1848 in La Chaux de Fonds. In 1903, the company changed its name to Omega, becoming the only watch brand in history to have been named after one its own movements. A full-fledged manufacturer of highly accurate, affordable and reliable watches, its sterling reputation enabled them to be chosen as the first watch company to time the Olympic Games beginning in 1932. Its continued focus on precision and reliability ultimately led their Speedmaster chronograph wristwatch to be chosen by NASA in 1965 — the first watch worn on the moon.

Key models sought-after by collectors include their first, oversized water-resistant chronograph — the reference 2077, early Speedmaster models such as the CK 2915 and 2998, military-issued versions of the Seamaster and oversized chronometer models such as those fitted with their prestigious caliber 30T2Rg.